Celebrating With Curls
When I originally scheduled this giveaway, it wasn’t with forethought of this historic occasion. But in light of the news that Barack Obama has been elected President of the United States, it seems like an even more appropriate celebration! This giveaway is especially for my transitioning bellas!
I recently did a post about a popular hair product recently, and the comments revealed a common natural hair complaint — not only is everything not for everybody, but quite a few of you feel left out of the product craze in the first place.
Bellas with 4b hair have very particular hair needs that are oft overlooked.
But before I delve deeper into this topic, I’ll reveal my ignorance first — I had no idea about hair texture or types or the various numbers and letters designated to them, back when I decided to quit the creamy crack cold turkey.
Discovering and diagnosing my own hair type — which I would say is 4A with a touch of 3C at the very back and 4B on the top — has been an important chapter in my natural hair journey. Click here to figure out your hair type, in case you’re unfamiliar with such terms. And please note — alphanumeric hair types aren’t universally embraced or appreciated, most certainly not with my sisters at Nappturality.com.
My point is, forget hair types if you’re just starting out with natural hair. From my experience, I learned that you never truly know what kind of hair type you’re going to have until you take the plunge and transition. And no matter what it is, if you’re committed to being a truly natural afrobella, you’re going to learn to love it. Part of learning to love your natural texture, is learning to work with it. And part of that, comes from finding the perfect products to give your hair the moisture, nutrients, and love it needs.
If you have thick, kinky, wooly, z-shaped curl, needs-alotta-moisturizer hair, there are a number of products that are recommended for you. The Sistas at Sistas Place have some great suggestions, and I’ll expand on those in a special post for you all soon. Promise. For now, I’ve got another product recommendation for my transitioning bellas, from one of my favorite natural hair product companies out there.
Curls styling products — Milkshake, Souffle, and Whipped Cream — are deeply moisturizing styling products.
Curls Milkshake (described as Ashanti’s favorite), is a nurturing moisturizer, formulated with pure coconut milk and certified organic aloe leaf juice.
The Souffle is my new favorite — it makes my curls pop, and leaves my hair soft and totally not sticky or greasy to the touch. And Whipped Cream is made especially for 3C to 4B textures, and promises to give definition, frizz protection, moisture, and sheen.
Here’s a demonstration video especially for bellas with kinkier hair types, who want to see how these products might work for your hair type.
In that video, the Curlicious Curls Cleansing Cream and Curls Milkshake are used to detangle, moisturize and style her hair. And wouldn’t you know — those items are also included in the Transitioning Diva Kit!
This package of products is very popular — it includes the aforementioned Curlicious Curls Cleansing Cream, Curl Ecstasy Hair Tea conditioner (which is great for deep conditioning steam cap treatments), Quenched Curls Moisturizer, and Curls Milkshake — all for $55.
And five lucky transitioning Afrobella readers will get to try out this curlicious goodness themselves!
All you have to do is answer the question: Why are you a transitioning diva?
I will close this contest on Monday, November 10. (FYI, I’m scheduled to be on NPR’s News and Notes that day as well!). Then I’ll choose 5 winners from the best answers.
So tell me, bellas — Why are you a transitioning diva?
** totally random PS — if anyone knows who the model is in the photo at the top, please let me know. I did a search for 4B hair a while ago and she came up, but I can’t find the original image source anymore!
Category: Hair, Product Reviews
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- Curls Transitioning Diva Winners! | afrobella | November 19, 2008
Afrobella,
I am transitioning my hair because i
am at a stage in which my life is
transitioning. I just went off to
college and for over the past two
years I have been on a constant
discovery of who and what I am.
Through this selfdiscovery I have found many
amazing things about myself from the way I think,dress, and act.
I decided after my senior graduation
in May of 2008 that I no longer want to continue
getting relaxers. I remember everytime
it was time for a new relaxer my roots would
come out and show the true texture of my
hair and I would frantically try to do
everything possible to conceal them.
Now I am no longer ashamed or afraid of
my nappy, kinky, tightly curled afro
roots. I realized that I truly was
afraid of something that was part of me
an aspect that GOD created, and I was
trying to remove an aspect of my
essence that was meant to be there.
Honestly I feel as if I am redifining
my definition of beauty and I want
to find 100 % self love, to accept
myself without exception. and from
the great words of blackstar, “when
i look in the mirror, I see the evidence
of a divine presence” so I have no
problem anymore with anything other
than ME.
Goodluck to those that win
have a blessed day
-PeAcE
OMG!!!! Am I too late!! I have been searching for products to transition with. I am transitioning because I am tired of the chemicals and the heat and I know that my hair is beautiful because I know that I am beautiful. My daughter (11)and I both are making the transition together. And I am sooo proud of her for not wanting to follow the worlds idea of beauty, she is making her own image. I have been searching the internet for hairstyles and ideas for both of us. I am striving to make her comfortable in her own skin. I want her to embrace her skin color as beautiful, her hair texture as unique and beautiful I just want her to be proud of who she is and who she represents. I am always on a mission to build her self esteem and confidence. So I feel that if she embraces or finds her nitch in a hairstyle she will have that wonderful strong mentality of a lot of sistas on this site. I want her to be a proud, strong black young lady.
Thanks for listening to me ramble.
Eboni
I was in love with the ‘creamy crack’ and the straight hair it gave me. I was however not in love with my weak brittle and constantly breaking hair that I got as a result.
Hi Afrobella!!! I am a transitioning Diva because I can no longer sit back and watch what little hair I currently have fall out of my head with a simple light touch. I have been getting a perm for over 10 years. After a decade of abuse with curling irons, crimp irons, flat irons, blow dryers, coloring, weaving, braiding and sewing, my hair has literally given up. What I’m left with is the beginning stages of what appears to be alopecia along my hair line and small bald spots around my temples. I’m only 24 years old and everytime I uncover my hair (I normally wear head wraps) my hair itself looks much older.I’ve been transitioning for the past 3 months and last weekend I decided to do a Big Chop. I now have a tiny afro but I’m learning to love and nurse my hair back to its thick and glorious splendor. I have 4b type hair and I believe the Curlicious line would greatly help me especially since I’m not a huge fan of mixing and making my own hair concoctions. I’m ready to show the world the real me without hats or headwraps and by having the proper hair care products at my fingertips– I can continue my journey of learning, styling and experimenting. Thank you.
Honestly, I just want to see my hair in it’s natural state and work with what I’ve got. I don’t have any horror stories about losing hair or perms breaking it off. I don’t hate perms and weaves like some natural sisters. I’m not on any kind of mission to be “blacker” or assert some kind of dominance over those that choose to perm or weave. I’m just tired of perming and my hair never seems to grow past a certain length with the chemicals.
What will be interesting is my reaction to my hair when it’s in it’s full, natural state. I have visions of curls that I know don’t match up with what my roots are telling me. Indian in the family don’t mean diddly squat! LOL I’m sure it will be an eye opening experience when I have to confront the years of thinking bone straight is the way to go.
I am a transitioning diva because I woke up one day and realized I’ve never seen my hair completely naked. Never without a perm, pressing comb, blow dryer, flat iron, hot rollers, etc, etc. I have never woken up and just seen MY hair. And I realized that needed to change. I thought it would be nice to see what I truly looked like.
Thanks,
Candice
I am a liar.
June 06: As the barber shaped my twa, I smiled and said I would never again alter myself for another’s approval. I told others I loved myself and my head of burgeoning, nappy curls. I told myself I loved me at my rawest, most original state, but I lied.
June 08: He was dreadlocked and radical and beautiful to me. However, the ladies of his past were sleek and polished. Not like me. Idiotically, I wanted to be like them, having at once belonged to this man. So, despite cultivating my beautiful hair for two years, despite feeling my most comfortable and beautiful when I was natural, I submitted to the icy-burn of a relaxer. As my hair lay flat and lifeless about my shoulders, I felt a crushing regret. In my quest to be “acceptable”, I had become unacceptable to myself. In that instant, I realized just how far I still had to go to develop my sense of self-awareness.
November 08: After much meditation and soul-searching, yoga and fasting, I cut away over a foot of hair and just under 6 feet of man and am once again making vows. I promise to never again alter myself for another’s approval. I promise to love my nappy curls. I promise to love myself in my rawest, most original state. Finally, I promise to cultivate myself with as much dedication as I cultivate hair.
As a tweenager my daughter felt the call to straighten her hair. We discussed it but I remember how it felt to be a 12 year old so I supported her choice. Because she’s a swimmer and she has fragile 4B hair not only did the perm not “take” but she ended up with breakage in the back that left her with an inch of hair.
She weathered that storm with cornrows and puffs and now she’s got a nice head of thick hair. But it’s a struggle to keep it healthy.
I’m in the daily struggle to encourage and support my teenage Bella as she holds on to her natural 4B hair. She gets discouraged sometimes in the heavily marketed world she lives in but she’s cool.
I’d love her to have this product so she can see all the options she has with her beautiful God given hair.
Love you so much for all you give to us!
marg
First things first: LOVE the blog. I can’t wait until I can officially join the afrobella community.
My decision to transition from chemically processed to natural hair reflects my transition of what it means to be beautiful, and particularly, what it means to be a beautiful black woman. Ever since I was a child, I felt that my loud, statement making curls were unacceptable. My white mother did her best with my hair, but it was my black aunt that took chemicals to it because it was “nappy.” Ever since I was 7 years old I have been relaxing my hair every two months or so, because I felt my natural hair was unacceptalbe.
Summer 2008 changed things. Usually for the summer I take it easy on the chemicals, and after a few months I realized how magnificent my curly roots were. This made me question my ideas of beauty. After this I would carefully watch other black women around me, how they wore their hair, if it was natural, in braids, in dreadlocks. I went on a researching rampage, looking at blogs, vlogs, and facebook groups about natural hair. I discovered this wonderful community of black ACCEPTING their hair, and not only accepting it but LOVING it. Iknew there was no way I could ever cover up my natural hair again. I told my mom I was never going to chemically process my hair again and she was supportive, as always. I have always been a confident person and accepting of the way I look, but I realized that I had no idea what REAL self acceptance was because I couldn’t even appreciate the beautiful hair that grows out of my head.
I’ve been transitioning for five months now and it has been the most difficult process I’ve had to go through, and undoubtedly the most significant transition of my short 21 years of life. I’ve been exploring all natural products, and protective styles. My hair is now braided with extensions for the first time ever while I patiently wait for the new growth. My hair had to wait 15+ years for me to accept it, now I can wait for it to take its time and grow.
Thanks for listening! Afrobella, you’ve been an inspiration.
Hi all:
I just wanted to say that I am moved by your journeys. You should all be so proud of yourselves because I am proud of you for making the choice to be more free and self-accepting.
Also, I haven’t seen this written anywhere (it may have been), but when I was transitioning the hair growing out from the relaxer and the original new growth was nothing like my natural hair I have now. If I had focused on that chemically addicted hair, I may not have continued the transition. That hair was fighting me every step just like a drug addict who doesn’t want an intervention. With patience and determination I won…so can you!
I’m not transitioning (I’ve been natural for almost a year and a half :0), but I just wanted to comment on my love of the Curls line. When I was new to natural, Curls was one of the first product lines I tried. I’m so glad I did b/c I found my first holy grail product, Curls Whipped Cream. Whipped Cream is the best thing since sliced bread. All of the textures on my head respond well to it. I’m a 3c/4a combo with a little 4b by my ears on each side. It smells good. It’s rich and thick. Moisturizing and defining. Great for the winter months (although I use it year-round), and also great on twists!
I am transitioning because I’m trying to love my hair in its natural God-given state without relying on chemical straightners. I grew up in Nigeria and having natural hair was not a big deal then. In fact, you could find as many people with relaxed hair as with natural hair. But suddenly the trend has shifted. Everyone is rocking a permie.
I have had permed hair since I was 6 years old and I have always secretly wanted to know what my natural texture felt like. So far, I have discovered that I have 4B-4Z hair. There’s no denying it even though I have 3C envy, I am trying to love and appreciate myself. I need an intervention quickly because its so hard to appreciate my 4Z texture when I am bombarded with loser & softer textures everywhere I turn, it seems. This is why I’m a transitioning diva!
-Anya has spoken
I am a transitioning diva because I’m tired of doing harm to my hair I’m tired of crying because i see my hair dropping out when i get a bad perm I’m tired of struggling on what should i do with my lifeless now short hair I’m tired of cutting my hair every minute after i get new growth its like it doesn’t make any sense to grow it because i have to cut the extreme spilt ends.My hair use to be long but I went and go listen to people when they said that if i permed my hair it would come out longer…it comes out longer yes but its because the perm strecthes out my hair thats about it it strecthes it out until it looks lifeless and thin my hair reached my waist now its short like i bobbed it.I stopped perming it and started using cantu(it smells really good:)it also made my hair get thicker but I’m still confused on what should I use for my type of hair when its wet it curly and when it drys it looks like nappy dread locks I think it looks cute that way but my mother insist for me to perm my hair I don’t like perms but I do it anyway because I don’t have a choice I’m 15 years old now going to be 16 in january, she just gave me my free will on what I want to do with my hair and now I want to use it wisely I want to go natural.Now adays I see old black woman with extreme thin hair and bald spots to the point that they were wigs and I know that the more I perm my hair and make it thin out the more I have chances wearing a wig at a early age.So thats why I’m a transitioning diva.I cry for a change and now i could speak for myself and say I want to go natural last tuesday people voted for change and they got it Obama said YES WE CAN!!! AND I’M SAYING YES I CAN,YES I CAN GO NATURAL…with YOUR HELP
Naturally convinced,
Kimi
Not transitioning, but I thought I’d give my two pence (UK nap here
I’ve always wondered how hair typing is helpful for anything other than styling. Two people can have the same hair type, but different results with products. How dense one’s hairs are, how thick one’s hair is, how porous the strands are, the climate, the water softness, one’s diet, one’s expectations, styling choices, life style etc all, in my opinion, have more of an influence than ‘hair type’. Just my experience for the transitioners on here (lovely stories by the way) x
I’m a recent graduate who is engaged and working (thank God). I decided to start transitioning because I was figuring out who I am. It was a shock finding out that what I thought I was going to do with work, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do. The person I thought I was in a relationship, I wasn’t. I knew I had to start with myself. It’s a great process to discover what has been covered up for years. It makes me feel like there is so much more to discover in my life, even if it’s a “small” step.
Bellas,
I posted earlier with the 11 year old daughter and my feeling of being a hypocrite in both of our eyes. I want you all to know that JUST TODAY….. I DID THE BIG CHOP! It was the most frightening and liberating experience. I cut it right in the front center of my head so I couldn’t back out. My hair is now a little less than one inch long and curly in its natural state. I am so excited and happy.
This was spurred for the reasons above but also because our search for hair product was enlightening. While going to the local beauty supply store, we encountered serveral customers and salespeople with so-called helpful advice.. “OH, you should use a blow dryer and flat iron” or the most helpful, “That glide iron on the infomercial will help make it straight”. This was said by a woman purchasing 5 packs of YAKI to wrap around her slicked back dead straight hair! I was upset and left the store, disturbed by her unwillingness to recognize the beauty in my daughter’s curls.
In all honesty, I have to admit, we did try the creamy crack once with her 2 years ago. All the sides and back of her hair fell out and we were forced to BIG CHOP her hair. But since my enlightenment,i want to take this journey. I want her to understand that she is beautiful, with her curls, in her natural state.
Hello Ladies,
I just wanted to let you know about a really fabulous organic hair line that is just amazing for natural hair. I have been wearing my hair natural for over 12 years and I will never go back. Finding the right products have always been difficult. But in the last 5 years many good products that are specific for natural hair are available and so wearing our hair natural has become so much easier.
SPECIAL GIVEAWAY!!
I would like to offer 2 product giveaways to the first 25 people to email me and tell me your brief story about how you decided to go natural. I will pick 2 random winners from the emails and send you one of the John Masters Organic Hair Products.
Send your emails to botanysdesire@gmail.com
Hey Bella! I am a transitioning diva simply because I gained the confidence to wear my hair in its natural state. It hasn’t been easy, that’s for sure, but I’m learning that my hair never needed the chemicals to begin with. Thank you!
I’m a transitioning because I felt it was time for a change. Every since I was a child I have worn relaxers, and time and time again I have ran into problems with my hair. From breakage (to point of thinning out in the middle) and being over processed, my strands have gotten tired from being pulled through the muck over the years. I look at photos of people with gorgeous locs and other natural styles and I just love the confidence they have in their hair. So I thought, why not?! I’m doing it for the health of my hair, and because my hair is apart of me, and I need to take care of it. I’m so happy I’m going through with the new me; I’m currently wearing protective styles to help me transition. I’m excited about the natural products I will be trying out and how my natural texture will look. I can finally take control now!
I am so proud to be a black woman, especially at this historic moment. I want to transition to my natural glory to fully embrace myself in all my wonderful blackness.
I am transitioning to “natural” hair because it is a natural progression in my life journey. My journey o put less “junk” in my body, on my skin, and in my hair. It was just a “natural” next step to let go of the relaxer and let the natural me shine through.It hasnt always been easy, and it seems like a fad now, I am in it for the long haul.
Thanks
I’m transitioning because its proved to be a healthier alternative for me, plain and simple. The transition from relaxed to natural has been a part of the process I’m going throug to “find myself”. and the freedom that my untreated hair provides me is making the journey an easier one.
I love my hair in this state, and the process of learning how to care for it in it’s new form has been awesome. Being a tall girl, I think my hair( a short fro at the moment) makes me even more fly.
I’ve told every woman I know, just do it. Cut that mess off. You will love your hair, and it will love you right back.
I’m not entering the contest but I just had to post my reason for transitioning.
Well, I was about two years into being natural when a friend of mine placed me in her wedding and suggested that I thermally straighten my hair in order to fit in with the “conservative” look she wanted her bridesmaids to have (*shaking my head and rolling my eyes* as if to say natural isn’t conservative but that’s a whole other topic for another time). I obliged. “No biggie,” I thought. “After all, it’ll revert back to it’s natural state in a week or two.” Boy was I wrong! The heat totally denatured my hair. Ugh! Never again. So now I find myself transitioning yet again. Lesson learned.
The whole point of this is to say the reason why I transitioned (originally and now) is because I’m tired of trying to look like a woman. I AM A WOMAN! Why should I constantly go through so many alterations in order to achieve the so-called womanly look that’s repeatedly fed to me through images and media. I decided to leave the alterations up to drag-queens. I am a woman, nappy hair and all. Why should I attempt to look like one when I am one in my natural state? Besides, to me, black women look better when there hair isn’t processed and overly shiney. =)
“How can I claim to know and love myself when I don’t even know what my own hair looks like?” is what I asked myself one day earlier this year, the day I decided to transition. From the time I was a little girl, I have struggled with my identity as a woman in this crazy world–Growing up in a mostly white neighborhood and an all-white school, I was constantly bombarded with messages about what was considered beautiful and what wasn’t. I was told that I was ugly because I was too dark, and my features too broad and that long, straight/wavy hair was essential if you ever wanted a job, family, or love life. This was even reinforced by the people in my home life who even went so far as to tell me, “Who in their right mind would want that crazy, nappy mess that you got on your head??”.
I remember growing up wondering why my hair couldn’t be like those of the little girls on the Just for Me boxes, or why it didn’t blow in the wind like the other girls’ hair. Even with a relaxer I just couldn’t get it the way it was “supposed to be”. I cried because I didn’t have the beautiful blonde waves I saw in magazines. I cried because I would never be beautiful and I didn’t belong.
I know it’s cliche, but since I gotten into college, I’ve been on a journey of self discovery. I’ve learned to accept myself for who I am, flaws and all. I guess this I guess is the final step for me. The one I’ve been so scared to take. But to me, it’d be much worse to go on not knowing than to take that step, even if I don’t end up liking or keeping it natural. I’m tired of having to force my hair to look a certain way. I’m done with having to stay inside when it rains or is humid. I’m sick of not being able to go out with friends after I wash my hair, and I’m tired of being afraid to swim for fear of someone seeing my naps. I’m going to love my beautiful self COMPLETELY, and not worry about whether I’m “acceptable” or not. I’m done with it all and I can’t wait to see the end result!
as of today, i am 7 days away from my due date. i am scheduled to deliver my very first child – a beautiful baby boy – on 11.17, and am thrilled and excited about the new adventure me & my honey are on.
prior to getting pregnant, i decided to go natural and have been struggling with maintaining my natural tresses through my pregnancy. your hair texture changes and even thins out while your pregnant and then some time after! no one clued into this so after freaking out a bit and some trial and error, i found that the one product line that has helped me has been Curls. it’s not greasy, it’s not drying, it almost all natural, smells divine and has been keeping my hair looking pretty and touchable for the time I used it until now.
i probably won’t have time to re-up on my Curls products in the next month or so, so it would be GREAT to have the transitioning kit on tap so that in between breast feeding, playing with the baby, getting my body back and getting things back to “normal,” i won’t have to worry about what my hair looks like! getting a Curls kit in the mail would be heavenly. Thanks!
I am transitioning because natural is how my hair should be. I’m falling in love with my “new” hair. Why should I be ashamed to be who God made me to be. No other race goes through this fear of embracing their natural hair, why should I. I have 2 little girls. I tell them constantly that their hair is beautiful. God’s makes no mistakes & to embrace being different. Society is too unsure of itself to judge & label others. I constantly tell other parents that their daughter/son hair is not difficult, they just need to find a NEW way of styling it & I offer various suggestions on products & styling methods. Some people want the quick & easy, but not EVERYTHING is going to be that way. Being natural is an awesome experience & slowly but surely more black women are coming to realize and embrace that.
I am a transitional diva because each day that I wake up with my natural hair I feel a sense of lightness and freedom. In my youth, I was pretty self-conscious about my permed hair,always wearing weaves, braids, or perming my hair incessantly. This damaged my hair pretty badly, so I decided to stop perming my hair May 2007. I won’t say it’s been smooth sailing since then because it hasn’t. It’s been difficult finding products that moisturize and condition my dry hair. Yet I have not regretted going through this process because it has made me reevaluate how I perceive beauty. I realized I was hiding myself behind my hair and letting how my hair was styled dictate the way I felt about myself as an attractive Black woman. I won’t say every Black female should go “natural” because I think that’s a simple answer to a more complex problem Black females face with determining their own self worth. I do think it’s a building block, however, and I support my family and friends, who have decided to start the transition to natural hair.
Hi Bella, i love your website by the way, i stumbled across it about a month ago and have been hooked ever since.
Right now, i havent relaxed my hair since march and naturally my hair is sooooo thick, it can be quite overwhelming, i almost cried last week at the hairdressers when she was trying to brush my hair, its sooooooo painful. I really dont know what to do anymore, honestly i dont want to relax it cos my hair feels healthier, grows longer when its not relaxed but i really need to do something about the texture, its soooooo frustrating trying to do anything.
I live in london so we dont have amazing products like carols daughter and miss jessies so until i move i need to sort it out. PLEASE HELP.
LOTS OF LOVE. XXXX
im not transistioning ive texturized hair that is shaved low on the sides and back, its low on the top but with a long ‘fierce’ (if i do say so myself) bang in the front for months ive been using paul mitchells foaming pomade but just found sebastians ‘whipped cream’-the curls are perfect and the bang is wavy without frizz or overly shiny-love this stuff! try it on your texturized/kinky hair-provides natural and beautiful texture and softness.